Mark Isham / Art Lande - We Begin (1987)

Another 80s ECM one-off; the decade in the label's history that never ceases to make me think "wow, that's just gorgeous" or "seriously, wtf?", or sometimes both, as in the case of We Begin.  Recorded by Rubisa Patrollers Mark Isham and Art Lande in January 1987, on its release later that year We Begin must've caused a bit of consternation among even hardened ECM fans when they heard its opening moments.  Anyone who stuck with the album, though, will have found another minor classic to cherish.

That first sound on opening track The Melancholy Of Departure is a drum machine; not just a low-key accompaniment, but a full minute of big, brash beats before Isham's trumpet and synth join in.  His lovely, contemplative melody continues to unfold with subtle piano from Lande; their stately progression completely at odds with the unchanging, Trans Midwest Express rhythm galloping away in the background.  This pairing sounds so wrong at first that it's almost comical, but after a few listens I was hooked on it.  The eerie ambience of Ceremony In Starlight that follows is another weirdly appealing piece, and not just for how uncannily Jon Hassell-like Isham sounds.

The rest of the album, apart from a lengthy shared composition, switches Lande into the driving seat.  The absolutely gorgeous title track shows what the album's opener would be like without the beats, before some subtler percussion is added back in for the brief Lord Ananea.  On the album's second half, the 10-minute Surface And Symbol is arguably the album's most successful exploration of rhythm and texture, with Isham layering his trumpet parts over the insistent percussion.  After that, we get a lovely Lande piano solo in Sweet Circle, and a fanfare duet to close.  All in all, one of the most memorable oddities in the ECM catalogue; it Sometimes shouldn't work, but in Isham and Lande's hands just does.

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Art Lande - Rubisa Patrol (1976)

Pianist Art Lande has previously featured on these pages in an early 80s trio; this is the first album by his 70s quartet, who would subsequently take their name from this album.  And winding back to '76 with ECM puts us square in the middle of the label's first phenomenal purple patch, when almost every release was an instant and lasting classic.  So prepare for something pretty special as far as 70s jazz goes.

Digging this album out after not having listened to it in quite a while, the first thing that struck me was just how good it sounds.  This is where the renowned 'ECM sound' really started to crystallise, and the recording quality is a joy to behold even before you get started on how good the music is; you'd barely believe it was forty years ago that ECM's Jan Erik Kongshaug rolled the tapes.

Lande is on top form throughout this mostly laid-back programme, but Rubisa Patrol is very much a group effort.  Trumpeter Mark Isham is arguably the star player here, with his mellifilous tone wringing every possible drop of beauty from these melodies (two of them from his own pen).  However, the first sound you hear on the album is a bamboo flute played by bassist/flautist Bill Douglass, who also gets the spotlight (on regular flute) on two takes of Jaimi's Birthday Song.  As mentioned above, this is a wonderfully relaxed record, but the Isham composition For Nancy does pick up the pace a bit for variety, and the minute-long Bulgarian Folk Tune even more so, making for a memorable halfway point on this stunning album.

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Art Lande/David Samuels/Paul McCandless: Skylight (1981)

So, who's up for another gorgeous, crystalline session of early-80s chamber jazz?  Taken by itself, that kind of description might scare away a sizeable majority of a jazz audience, never mind anyone else, but have no fear - this is ECM we're talking about.  Skylight was a one-off trio date (although none were strangers to each other) between three Americans: pianist Art Lande, vibraphone player David Samuels, and Oregon (the band) reedsman Paul McCandless.

I've previously posted Kristina Krimsky & Trevor Watts' sole ECM disc Stella Malu.  Skylight, recorded two months later, is cut from the same cloth in some ways, notably Chillum, the mellowest track here, where McCandless leads with a serene, keening melody like a non-Nordic Jan Garbarek.  Other than that, and an overall rainy-Saturday-morning vibe to both records, Skylight differs from Stella Malu with a more explicitly jazzy bounce - and of course an extra player.  I really hope more of Samuels' ECM appearances get reissued at some point - this is the only place he can currently be heard on CD - but until then, there's always the excellent musica degradata.

Over on Side 2 of Skylight, the second-longest track Moist Windows/Lawn Party is perhaps the centrepiece for this trio - everyone gets a turn in the spotlight as the track winds a path through changes of mood and pace, returning now and then to a main melody.  And the great little minature Ente (To Go) is worth a mention for its music-boxy use of thumb piano.

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